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Like many of the houses in the area, this home was designed by notable Providence architects, Thomas Gould and Frank Angell. Originally started in July 1884 by George and Elizabeth Humphrey, the unfinished house was sold to Josiah Blake in October of the same year. By the following March, Fanny and Thomas Leavens acquired the uncompleted structure and set to finish the work. Leavens was a partner in Leavens & Birch, a hat, coat, and accessories shop located on Westminster Street, and the residence of his business associate Joseph Birch can be seen next door at 49 Princeton.

The Leavens House is a quaint Queen Anne dwelling, small in scale compared to the larger and stately Colonial Revivals in the neighborhood. Detailed bargeboards grace the front and side gables, and a band of circular rings forms a decorative frieze around the structure.

The current owners purchased the house in 2003 and have created a small compound of historic houses on Princeton Avenue and Whitmarsh Street, combining three of the rear yards to form one large arrangement of various garden vignettes, a salt-water swimming pool, and hidden seating areas. Like their other properties, the Leavens House has been thoroughly restored and updated in its conversion to a multi-family dwelling.

— Festival of Historic Houses Guidebook, 2017

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© 2025 Guide to Providence Architecture. All rights reserved. Design by J. Hogue at Highchair designhaus, with development & support by Kay Belardinelli.